Loads of Typos... Sorry not sorry. Smashed out this chapter. Guess what... Its the last one!
Stay tuned for the epilogue, currently in progress.
Also, i am deeply sorry for what happens. I honestly wanted to do it the other way but i thought... who needs a happily ever after? Right?
Lily sat anxiously in her living room, waiting for Josie and Draco to return for the afternoon. They had promised that they would come early, given that it was a Friday and classes were expected to finish early.
She sat, stood, paced and sat again, wondering how it could be that Josie would make her wait this long. It was now late into the afternoon and Lily was eager for some kind of sgn that Josie and Draco had simply changed their minds.
Sirius entered the room and flicked on the wireless, tapping it once with his wand and muttering "Diggory", which was the password of the day.
"I forgot that they had a programmed planned for today: Lily said sadly.
"Relax, Lil, I'm sure Josie and Draco are huddled up in an alcove somewhere snogging each other before they come" Sirius said.
"Sirius" she exclaimed, not wanting to think about Josie that way.
"What? You and James did it. Daily. Hourly, if I recall" he said.
"That's not the same. I was seventeen. Josie is…" she said.
"Josie… is sixteen with the brain of someone wiser than most. She is also married" Sirius said.
"But she's still just a girl" Lily said, sitting down with her face in her hands.
"With enormous responsibilities. Let her have a little fun every now and then" he said.
The wireless kicked in with the unmistakable voices of Ron and Neville.
"Good evening folks, we come to you from the centre of the commotion with a special announcement. The weather is great, but we need a little lightning, some stars in the darkness and a flower to make it better. That's right folks, if only we had those things, the commotion here would be less intense"
"Lightening, stars and a flower?" Sirius asked. "What kind of request is that?" he added looking to Lily who was now standing.
"Are you daft dear husband? Lightening? Harry. Stars in the darkness? Sirius Black? A flower?" She asked.
"They want us to come to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.
"HARRY?" Lily called up the stairs.
It wasn't a minute before Harry stood before his mum with a puzzled look on his face.
"Get dressed, we leave in two minutes" Lily said, following him upthe stairs to prepare Lyra and Carina to stay home alone.
"No way, I'm coming" Carina said.
"Not negotiable. You're underage" Lily said.
"So is Josie" Lyra said.
"That's different" Lily said.
"You expect us to stay here while you all go off and… what? What are you going in to?" Carina asked.
"I… I'm not sure exactly but we need to go" Lily said.
"What if something happens?" Lyra asked.
"Everything will be fine" Lily said, kissing her twins on the foreheads.
"We just… wait for you to come back? How long will you be?" Carina asked.
"As long as it takes. Now listen to your mother. We will be back as soon as we can. Until then, eat your supper and go to bed on time" Sirius said from the doorway, ceasing the argumentative conversation that was taking place.
"Thanks" Lily said as they headed back down the stairs.
"Ready?" Lily asked Harry who was waiting near the door.
"What exactly are we walking into?" Harry asked.
"No idea mate" Sirius said as they exited the door and stood on the front doorstep.
"Great. Love that" Harry said.
"Now the voices on the wireless indicated that there was something at the Hogs Head which would help us into the castle" Sirius said.
"How do you gather?" Lily asked.
"The dirtiest place to get a firewhisky is the place less risky?" Sirius said.
"I agree" Lily said as she held onto their hands and disapparated with them directly into the bar.
When he focus returned, she looked around and sat the familiar bar, although she hadn't been there in years.
"What on earth is going on?" Came the voice of Abe, the bartender.
"We need to get to Hogwarts. Can you help us?" Asked Harry.
"Of course I can, why the devil are you here?" he asked.
"We were called upon" Sirius said, reaching behind the bar for a bottle of firewhisky.
"You cant take that Sirius Black" he said.
"Things might get a little hairy, I think I'll need it. Don't worry, I'll pay you for it tomorrow" he said.
"Please, can you tell us how to get to the castle?" Lily asked.
"There's a passageway in the basement" he said.
"Nonsense, I know of every way to get in and out of that castle and you're wrong. WHats in that basement old man?" Sirius asked, brandishing his wand.
"Like I said. There is a passageway. It revealed itself a few months ago. Kids come and go, I give them meals and provisions. But if you'd prefer, you can make your way out into the street where the death eaters have alarms set to go off when someone is out there. They aren't letting anyone get off lightly neither" he said.
"You're… are you related to Dumbledore?" Harry asked, looking the man up and down.
"I am a Dumbledore.. Aberforth Dumbledore" he said.
"Professor Dumbledore's brother Harry" Sirius said, still suspicious of the man.
"Oh. I didn't know he had a brother" Harry said.
"I don't like to advertise. People begin to expect certain things" the older man said. "Right… through here if you're going" he added as they reached what looked to be a trap door.
"Sirius, I trust him" Lily said quietly.
"Lil, I just…" Sirius began, however, Harry had already pulled the door open and began climbing down.
"Its just as he said. There looks to be a tunnel heading towards the direction of the school" Harry said from the door below the basement.
The three of them thanked Aberforth and walked down the passageway which seemed to go on forever. At several points, it climbed up and levelled out before descending again. The walls, floor and ceiling were all dirt and at times, it became so cold they could almost not bear it.
"We must be below the lake" Lily said.
"We're somewhere. We've been walking for ages" Harry said.
Almost as soon as he spoke, they came upon a door which blended perfectly with the dirt. Sirius pushed Harry and Lily aside and opened the door slowly, wand in hand.
"What is this place?" Harry asked as they were met with a large room filled with hammocks, banners and people gathered in all the corners.
"Harry?" Came the voice of Ron from what looked to be the wireless set up.
"Harry, Mister and Mrs Black. Welcome to Hogwarts" Neville Longbottom said.
"We got the message" Lily said.
"Very clever" Sirius added.
"What's going on? Why are we here?" Harry asked.
"Its Josie. Ginny said from the other side of the room. She managed to get in here earlier this afternoon and cleared the room out. She really is quite something. She cast a protective shield over the entire corridor so everyone would feel safe leaving. She told me everything. The thing in the room of requirement, it has been destroyed" Ginny said, eliciting a sigh of relief from Lily and a grin from Harry.
"That's it, that's all of them" Sirius said.
"Except the obvious" Ginny said, looking to Harry for the first time.
"How do we… We didn't have enough time. We don't know how to get it out" Lily said, eyes welling up with tears.
"Its too late. Voldemort is coming here. She saw him. He wants her and he is coming here to get her" Ginny said.
"When?" Harry asked, but before he could answer, there was a loud bang from outside the room. Like an explosion.
"I guess now" Sirius said, heading for the door to the room.
"Where is Josie?" Lily called back to Ginny.
"I don't know, she went to find Malfoy" Ginny said, turning to Harry who hadn't moved from his spot.
As Lily left the room, she glanced back and saw a frantic Ron speaking into the microphone of the wireless and saw Harry encasing Ginny in his arms while the girl's eyes erupted in tears.
"I didn't know Harry and Ginny were a thing" Lily said to Sirius as they found themselves in the seventh-floor corridor which was now filled with dust and smoke.
"What do you think is happening?" Sirius asked.
"Well, they're together, obviously" Lily said.
"No, Lil, I mean… the smoke. The dust. What's going on?" Sirius asked.
"It's the beginning of the end of the war" Lily said, heading off towards the headmasters tower.
Josie sat on her bed beside Draco an hour later, desperate to pause time. This was the end. She knew that after this night, there would be no more.
"Please Josie, don't do this. Don't go" Draco said.
"I have to Draco. You heard him; he will send every last death eater into this castle until he finds me" she said.
"We can go to him, tell him that you want to stay a horcrux. Leave it inside of you and stand by his side. He likes you Josie. I will let you be his number one. He'll protect you" Draco said.
"Draco, that won't happen. You know it. He is scared now. He knows what I am and he thinks I'm unstable. He wants to kill me. I've seen it. He has no idea that the others are destroyed. He is certain about the diary, and he knows we know, but he thinks the rest are fine" she said.
"You need to stay out of his head" Draco said.
"That's the only way I can know how this will all turn out. You won't let me leave, what else am I supposed to do?" she said.
"Stay here. Stay safe" he said.
"I should be out there fighting, Draco. Who knows what's going on? We know the people out there, we know what they're capable of. They aren't going to be stunning people. They're fighting to kill" she said, knowing that when she eventually convinces Draco to let her out of the room, she will more than likely come face to face with dead bodies.
"I need you Josie. When this is all over, who do you think I will go home to? My parents? They wont have me. I'm a traitor now" Draco said.
"My parents will help you. The Order of the Phoenix will help you. I've written it all in my journal Draco. All you need to do is show them" she said.
"No" he said.
"What do you mean no?" she asked.
"If you die, I die" he said.
"Don't be ridiculous" she said, placing her hands on his face.
"Why? I cant live without you Josie. You're everything to me" he said.
"Please, live Draco. Live for me, live because I don't get to" she begged, tears streaming down her face. She had a feeling he would do this, but she wanted nothing more than for him to carry on, live a life that she could be proud of. Live a life she would have wanted to live.
"There's no point Josie. You don't get it. Without you, there is no life" he said.
"There will be Draco. Now please, I need to do this" she said.
Draco closed his eyes and allowed her to stand. He remained in place, crouched beside the bed where she had been sitting. With a wave of his hand, the complex wards came down and they could now hear everything going on outside. There were explosions and screams coming from right outside their door. There was dust falling from the ceiling and people calling out the names of their friend.
Josie turned to look at Draco who was standing, staring at his feet.
"Look at me Draco" she demanded. "I love you, ok?" she said, walking back to where he stood, tears streaking down his face. "Draco, you have given me the most amazing years of my life. You are the only person to truly have understood me for who I am. Regardless of where this night takes me, takes us, you are the most important person to me. I will never forget what you've done for me. All that you've given me. You turned me from a cynical brat to an amazingly complex human being that is capable of loving someone else. I never thought id have that. Please… Draco… Don't ruin what could be an amazing life for yourself. Move on, live and love. Build an empire and be someone great. Make me proud to be your wife Draco. Please. Do not wallow in the aftermath of tonight" Josie said.
"I… I love you Josie" he said, kissing her passionately, before turning away so he didn't have to watch her leave him behind.
Within moments after Josie left, Draco gathered his composure and opened the door. He was met with scenes of total carnage. The walls of the castle were completely gone and there were injured people everywhere. Draco did what he could as he ran through the halls looking for something constructive to contribute. He was already giving his wife to the slaughter, the least he could do was try and save some people.
As he ran, he caught sight of a flash of red hair. He initially thought it might have been the Weasley girl, but instincts told him it was Lily. He turned and followed the flash and as he rounded a corner, he saw her standing face to face with three death eaters. They were taunting her, playing with her, as though they knew she was done for. Draco approached and realised Lily was wandless. This was not good.
"What are you three doing?" Draco demanded, asserting himself to the lower ranking death eaters.
"Just playing with our prey" one of them said.
"Good, well, seeing as though you caught it for me, run along. Find something else to play with" Draco said, flicking his wand and casting a non verbal net at the other end of the corridor.
"Draco, I thought…" Lily pleaded. Draco just looked at her and back to the death eaters.
"We saw her first" another death eater said.
"Shes pretty fit too, we was gonna take her into the classroom over there. Have some fun with her before we kill 'er" the first death eater said.
"Great idea. Might do that myself. Where's her wand?" he asked.
One of the death eaters handed it to Draco reluctantly.
"Now… run along so I can enjoy my gift in solitude" Draco said, watching as the three men turned and walked in the direction f the trap he had set.
Draco grabbed Lily by the arm and pulled her towards the classroom as the net he cast caught the three men and held them in place above the ground. Draco stunned them with a flick of his wand as he entered the room with Lily.
"Sorry about that. Are you ok?" he asked, handing her wand to her.
"I'm fine. Where's Josie?" she asked.
"I had her in our dormitory. I was begging her to stay. I even had wards up and everything. No one was getting in or out… But…" he said, tears forming in his eyes once again.
"She's stubborn" Lily said, her eyes matching Draco's tear-filled ones. "Where did she go?" she asked.
"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me where she was. And she's exceptional at occlumency. I tried to read her mind" he said.
"Come on, we'll find her" Lily said, making to leave.
"I… I don't think we will" he said, making Lily pause in her tracks. "I mean, she was heading straight for wherever Voldemort was. That was a while ago. I think… I don't want it to be true, but she'd be there by now" he said.
"Draco come on. Josie's a talented witch. More talented than anyone, even Voldemort. If anyone can get around this its her" Lily said, not wanting to believe the worse.
"She said goodbye. She told me to live on, to be great, not to wallow. SHE ISNT COMING BACK! Don't you understand?!" He said, full of emotion.
"I… I didn't realise how much you cared for her" Lily said, sitting back down.
"I love her more than anything. More than my family, more than my own self. If she dies, I may as well die too" he cried.
Lily stood and hugged Draco. He returned her hug and together they shared this moment while all around them, chaos, explosions and screams could be heard.
When they parted, they made to leave the room in silence. Each having no idea what to do. Before they could make it into the corridor, the voice of Vodemort echoed around the walls of the castle.
You have all fought bravely. I call upon my forces to retreat. I have what I want. Collect your wounded, gather the dead. You will be hearing from me again.
"NOO! What does that mean? He has what he wants? Does he have Josie?" Draco cried. His face was lined with tears through the dirt that had created a mask on his face.
Lily collapsed to the floor and wept into her hands.
"We need to go. We need to find the others. I'm sure Sirius will want to know if you're ok" Draco said, helping his mother in law up off the cobblestone floor.
They made their way to the great hall, which is where they expected everyone to gather. Along the way, they helped people who were injured and levitated dead bodies either alongside them, or out onto the grounds, depending on whether they were friend of foe.
In the great hall, they found Harry and Sirius waiting anxiously near the doors.
"I saw Josie, mum, I tried to stop her but she stunned me. She stunned me then threw a protection charm over me. Why would she do that?" Harry said.
"She saved me too" came the voice of Desmond Longbottom who had been helped I from outside. "I saw her running towards the forest and I tried to stop her but some death eaters came upon us. They hit me with a curse, but Josie deflected it so easily. I've never seen anything like that. No words, no wand, she just waved her arm and a bubble formed around me" he said.
"She saved me too" came the voice of one of the Weasley twins.
"If not for Josie, Fred would have been hit with the killing curse. She was coming past where we were fighting and did the same thing. No wand, no words, just a wave of her arm. Incredible" said the other twin who must have been George.
Lily looked around the room as more and more stories of Josie's heroics came about. It seemed as though most people had seen her and witnessed great power from her.
"She didn't hurt anyone though. She just threw out all these incredibly powerful shields and continued on her way" someone said.
"She never even spoke a word" came the voice of another.
Sirius held onto Lily as she took in the situation. She had no idea whether Josie was live or dead and it was killing her not to know.
People began lining up the bodies of the dead, which turned out to be very few. Draco recognised his friends first, Crabbe and Goyle, who had been placed with the supporters.
"Put them outside, they weren't on our side" Draco said dully to someone who was naming the bodies.
"They're your friends" someone said. He wasn't sure who.
"No. Not really. They're nobody now" he answered, moving along the line of bodies.
He saw a small boy what he recognised as the one who always took photos of everyone. Colin somebody, he thought. There was the body of a girl, who's face had been torn apart by some kind of animal. Draco has no idea who she could be. One of the Patil twins and a girl he recognised as Hufflepuff Hannah Abbot lay among the dead as well as some adults that Draco didn't recognise.
Draco made his way, along with some others, to investigate the grounds for the injured and the dead. As he left the great hall, he noticed that the light of morning was just appearing over the horizon. He helped an injured 5th year up and into the castle, without uttering so much as a word, as he was lost way into the depths of his grief.
Something within him knew. There was something missing in the world. Something strange that he hadn't realised existed but now it was gone the absence of it was overwhelming. He and several others stood at the doors of the castle and it was then that Draco noticed a group of people walking towards them.
"Potter" he called, and within moments, Harry, Lily and Sirius were by his side.
"Is it…?" she asked, not able to make out who was walking towards them in the building light.
Draco ran out of the doors, followed by several others who noticed the people heading towards the castle in a group
The closer they came, the more easily Draco could make out the figures. The charge was led by Voldemort himself, closely circled by the deranged Bellatrix who was skipping and singing something he couldn't quite make out. Hagrid appeared to be behind them and his parents were steps behind.
The group came closer still and it wasn't until they were almost at castle that Draco noticed that Hagrid was carrying something. Or someone.
He looked from Hagrid to Voldemort to his parents and back to the half giant. Before he knew who it was, he knew it was Josie.
His body was frozen, his mind was blank. He stood, stuck to the spot as the most evil, cruel being to roam this planet loomed closer still. Somewhere behind him he heard the scream that he only assumed was Lily.
"SILENCE" Voldemort roared in a voice he didn't know the snake was capable of. It must have been a charm because Lily's screams ceased immediately, but her mouth continued moving. She was held back by Sirius who's face was formed into a fierce angry scowl accompanied by tears. At the sound of the command, the people inside the castle all filed out onto the grounds.
"Josie Potter is dead" Voldemort exclaimed, his voice echoing around the grounds.
The spell he cast must have lifted at that moment, because the screams and cries that emerged from the crowd were all that Draco could hear in his head. However, suddenly, he looked around and realised it was him screaming. His voice, his words, calling for his wife, begging for her to be ok. Refusing to acknowledge that the body that was lying limp in Hagrid's arms was his Josie.
He felt arms around his body and had only realised at that moment that he had collapsed. Harry, the least likely person to be supporting him in this moment was helping him up off the ground and holding him steady as his own eyes filled with tears. Harry Potter, his nemesis, the one who should really be grieving, was helping Draco up off the dewy grass.
"I have won. Join me now or perish" Voldemort declared.
"Bullshit. I don't believe you" came the screaming echo of Hazel.
"I can assure you, the girl is dead. I checked her myself" Voldemort said. "But if you don't believe me…" he gestured to his death eaters and they pulled on a rope that Draco hadn't noticed was tied to Hagrid. Hagrid moved forwards and stood before the crowd. "Put her down" Voldemort instructed, and Hagrid ever so gently laid Josie on the grass.
Lily rushed forward and knelt before her daughter, placing her face against her cheek. "Josie? Baby? Can you hear me?" Lily begged. There was no answer. No response. Nothing.
Draco knelt beside Lily, somehow managing to make his legs cooperate with his brain. He carefully brushed the hair from Josie's face and placed his fingers against her neck to check for a pulse. He Begged and hoped and prayed to Merlin, Salazar, and even Godric that Josie would have a pulse, but the longer he felt, the more he realised that she was truly gone.
Josie was dead.
"No, no. Its not happening. Someone needs to do something. Madame Pomfrey? Where's the nurse?" he was calling.
"There is no use Draco" Voldemort said, which only enraged him further.
"POMFREY?!" Draco called, and the nurse emerged from the crowd. "Check her" he demanded, standing up and pointing to his wife's lifeless body.
"Mr Malfoy, Draco… Shes gone son. I cast a diagnosis already. It was the killing curse" she said.
"No. Do it again" he demanded, but the nurse just stood there. "DO IT AGAIN" he roared, looking around at the crowd who were looking on in sympathy.
Lily and Sirius were crouching beside Josie, Harry was crying with Ginny in his arms. Hazel was being held onto by Seamus and Josie's other friends were in various manners of disbelief.
No one moved. No one would help.
"Draco, my boy. I know you are upset now but I can assure you, you will get past this. Join me, return to your parents and you'll be greatly rewarded. I'll overlook the acts of defiance as teenage normalcy and you'll stand at my side. We need you with us Draco. We need your purity on our side where you belong" Voldemort said.
"Draco, please" His father called, holding his mother back.
Draco turned to look at the snake like creature that dared to speak to him. He thought for a moment about casting the killing curse at him, but thought better of it. Afterall, he was better than that. He looked to his parents and saw the fear in their eyes. They were afraid that they would be on the wrong side. He knew his mother only believed what she was told to believe and followed the side that she believed would keep them safest, however, now she just looked concerned for her son. His father appeared to be unchanged. Truly ready to follow Voldemort no matter what.
He looked back to his wife and knelt down to kiss her once more on the forehead as she lay dead on the wet morning grass. The sun was shining now as he knelt beside her, illuminating her hair in the way he liked, showing the subtle red glow that you only saw when the sun hit it just so. As he stared down at his wife, something shiny caught his gaze. Josie held in her belt a blade that appeared to be a smaller sized replica of the sword of Gryffindor. He knew in this moment what he had to do.
He looked to Voldemort and back to Josie as he made to kiss her once more, moving her hair from her face in an act of love. As he did, he retrieved the blade from her belt and slid it into the sleeve of the jumper he was wearing.
"Don't stop me" he whispered to Lily, before he stood and walked the short distance to where Voldemort was standing. He stood before the dark wizard who had just murdered his wife and initially offered his surrender.
"Kneel before me Draco and show me your allegiance" Draco nodded and made to kneel, instead, however, he pulled the dagger out from his sleeve and rammed it into the throat of Voldemort. He withdrew the blade and watched as the blood spurted out of Voldemort quicker than he thought possible. In this moment, several things happened at once. Many of the death eaters turned and ran from the grounds, Bellatrix screamed in horror, quickly being silenced by a curse that came from somewhere behind Draco, sending her to the ground with an echo of her fear etched on her face. There was an audible gasp from the crowd and Draco found himself seeing fear in the eyes of the Dark Lord, whose hands were now grasping at his neck, as Draco readied himself to plunge the blade in his flesh once more.
"There are no more horcruxes" Draco said roughly ready to end it.
He was stopped, however, by Harry, who held onto his hand.
"It has to be me. The prophesy says" Harry said quickly. Draco, acknowledged Harry and handed the blade over, allowing Harry to drive the blade deep into the cavity where a caring person's heart would be.
The two of them watched as the blood of Voldemort pooled at their feet, signalling the end of Voldemort's existence.
Draco turned to Harry and the two of them embraced, like brothers.
The end. WOWEE that was a long ass story. I'm so glad that i stuck with it and made it to the end in a way that i envisioned it initially. I am really sorry to have killed off Josie. I was going to save her, Harry style, but, reality is not full of happily ever afters. Why should this be any different? She was brave and bold and a true Gryffindor till the end.
RIP JOSIE POTTER MALFOY
Epilogue is currently in progress.